Rugby union in Sri Lanka
Encyclopedia
Rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

is mainly played at a semi-professional and recreational level. It is a popular team sport with a history dating back to 1879.

Governing Body

The Sri Lankan Rugby Football Union is the governing body in the country. The Sri Lankan union was founded in 1908 and joined the IRB
International Rugby Board
The International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...

 in 1988.

History

Sri Lanka discovered the game of rugby at the same time as India
Rugby union in India
Rugby union is currently a minor sport in India. However it is a fast growing sport as some Indian sporting clubs are beginning to embrace the game...

, and the first rugby club, The Colombo Football Club, was founded in Sri Lanka in 1879. The first rugby match played between two selected teams occurred on the 30th of June of that year between Colombo and a 'World' Team. The nation's first 'national' match involved an All Ceylon team against the All Blacks.

In the post-WWII period, S. Muthiah
S. Muthiah
Subbiah Muthiah, MBE , is an Indian journalist and amateur historian known for his works on the political and cultural history of Chennai city.He is a regular columnist for The Hindu and has written a number of books on the history and culture of Chennai.- Early life and education :Muthiah was born...

 campaigned for the sports introduction into the national police service.

The 1930
1930 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia
The 1930 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia was the twelfth tour by a British Isles team and the fifth to New Zealand and Australia...

 and the 1950 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia
1950 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia
The British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia in 1950 was the first post-war tour made by the Lions; there had not been one since 1938....

, also played unofficial matches in Ceylon on their way home.

Despite not performing well on the international stage, Sri Lanka is sometimes considered one of the rugby's success stories, with crowds of forty or fifty thousand turning out for club games.

Sri Lanka's problems have been three fold - firstly, a lack of finance, secondly, third world infrastructure, and thirdly, the country has been war torn for a number of years.

Notable Sri Lankan players include Len Saverimutto, who is the father of scrum half Christian Saverimutto, who was capped three times for Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...

 in the 1995-6 season.

Mahesh Rodrigo
Mahesh Rodrigo
Mahesha Rodrigo was a Ceylonese sportsman who represented his country in first-class cricket and rugby union.Rodrigo sometimes played as Ceylon's wicket-keeper and his 12 first-class appearances consisted of matches against Pakistan, the West Indies, Commonwealth XI and the Marylebone Cricket...

 was a dual international and represented Sri Lanka in the national cricket team; he was a scrum half, and captained the Ceylon XV.

National team

Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka national rugby union team
The Sri Lanka national rugby union team represents Sri Lanka in international rugby union competitions. Sri Lanka have yet to make their debut at the Rugby World Cup. They have the longest tradition of organised club rugby in Asia, dating back to 1879, which was just 8 years after the founding of...

 is yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....

, however the national team has enjoyed success in recent years, rising to 42 on the world rankings in 2006. They currently compete in Division One of the Asian Five Nations.

Sri Lanka also has a national sevens team
Sri Lanka national rugby union team (sevens)
The Sri Lanka national rugby union sevens is a national sevens side. They have competed in the Hong Kong Sevens since the 1980s. In 1989, veteran rugby commentator Bill McLaren mentions them in an article on the Hong Kong Sevens, saying that their team had players such as Kothalawala, Ekanayake and...

.

Women's rugby

Although Sri Lanka's women have not yet played test match rugby, they have been playing international sevens rugby
Women's International Rugby Union Sevens
Rugby Union Sevens - a short form of the sport of rugby union - was first played in 1883, with the first internationals taking place in 1973...

 since 2003. (Current playing record).

Domestic Competition

The major club competition in Sri Lanka is the Caltex League. The 'A' Division features eight teams competition on a home and away basis. In recent years the league has been dominaed by Kandy FC, however historically other clubs, especially the Army and Police, have dominated the sport in Sri Lanka.

The most prestigious club competition in Sri Lanka is the Caltex Cup.

Singer Sri Lankan Airlines Rugby Sevens

The Singer Sri Lankan Airlines Rugby 7's brought together all the rugby playing Asian countries on one platform for the first time. It is an achievement even the much famous Hong Kong Sevens tournament could not attain.

Current Division 'A' Clubs

Teams by Ranking
  • Kandy SC;
  • Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club (CR & FC)
  • Havelocks SC
  • CH & FC
  • Police SC
  • Army SC
  • Air Force SC
  • Old Zahirians SC
  • Wayamba Civets

Current High school level - A Teams

  • Dharmaraja College
  • St. Joseph's College
  • St. Peter's College
  • Royal College
  • Isipathana College
  • St. Thomas' College
  • Trinity College
  • St. Anthony's College
  • Zahira College
  • Thurstan College
  • Kingswood College

Current High school level - B Teams

  • Lumbini College
  • Zahira College
  • C.W.W. Kannangara
  • Science College
  • ananda College
  • Vidyartha College
  • Mahanama College
  • St. Benedict's College
  • St. Aloysius College, Galle

External links

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